There were skeptics o’plenty as far as St. John’s was concerned.
Sure they were a flawless 12-0 through their non-conference season, but still the Johnnies were being treated like the Rodney Dangerfields of the college basketball world - no respect.
They played very few quality opponents in the non-con season, the critics said. And when they did step up the competition a level or two along the way, against teams such as Cal, VCU and Georgia Tech, the Johnnies managed a win, but it was a struggle.
Heck, there was even that early-season game against Bowling Green where the Johnnies escaped with an 84-80 win, thus avoiding an embarrassing home loss to a “Who Are They?